Traditionally, war is a messy business– all that blood, sweat, and tears– not to mention danger, death, destruction, dismembered bodies, human suffering, nightmares, guilt, wasted taxpayer dollars, mounting deficit spending… you know the drill. (Pun intended.)

In recent years, the US military-industrial complex has made war less messy and less dangerous, at least for a select group of American soldiers. Drone pilots sit in secure bunkers and, armed with banks of sophisticated computer hardware, “fly” unmanned killing machines.

Drones– killing machines aimed at faceless targets– AKA fellow human beings– thousands of miles away.

No-muss, no-fuss drone warfare is no less deadly, destructive, or perverse than traditional war. It’s just easier and cleaner– just like playing the same violent video game day after day.

Although you hear about drones in the news, there is never any real analysis or detailed reporting of what the US is doing. Recently, Code Pink co-founder and author of the book Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control Medea Benjamin gave an eye-opening talk to an audience of about 60 Tucson activists. Personally, I was shocked how deeply entrenched in drone warfare Tucson already is. Davis-Monthan, The University of Arizona, Raytheon, and Fort Huachuca all have ties to the drone business. According to Benjamin, Fort Huachuca trains more drone pilots than any other facility in the world.

Last winter, Mayor Rothschild, then Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ office, and the  Davis-Monthan 50 held a press conference promoting Tucson and DM as a drone warfare center. (You can see the Tucson Sentinel’s raw raw footage here above and in KVOA’s edited news footage here.) We already have a dearth of good-paying jobs in Tucson that are not connected to the military industrial complex. Why court more? Sadly, when I posted the poll on this story from December, most readers said they’d take a drone job.

Click here for a USTREAM video of Benjamin’s entire one-hour talk. Below is a Loneprotestor video of the event.

Down with drones.

Give peace a chance.

May Day– more than any other day– is a holiday for the 99%. For decades, on May 1, workers around the world have honored the memory of Haymarket Square and striking Chicago workers who were fighting for an 8-hour work day.

From Wikipedia…

The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre or Haymarket riot) refers to the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square[3] in Chicago.

It began as a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour day. An unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at police as they acted to disperse the public meeting. The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians, and the wounding of scores of others.

In the internationally publicized legal proceedings that followed, eight anarchists were convicted of conspiracy, although the prosecution conceded none of the defendants had thrown the bomb. Seven were sentenced to death and one to a term of 15 years in prison. The death sentences of two of the defendants were commuted by Illinois governor Richard J. Oglesby to terms of life in prison, and another committed suicide in jail rather than face the gallows. The other four were hanged on November 11, 1887. In 1893, Illinois’ new governor John Peter Altgeld pardoned the remaining defendants and criticized the trial. [Emphasis added.]

The Haymarket affair is generally considered significant as the origin of international May Day observances for workers.[4][5] The site of the incident was designated a Chicago Landmark on March 25, 1992,[6] and a public sculpture was dedicated at the site in 2004. The Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument in nearby Forest Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark on February 18, 1997.[2]

When I was growing up in the 1960s, May Day was not celebrated widely in the US. On the TV news, we watched May Day marches in the Soviet Union, and the corporate media billed May Day as a Communist holiday. Thanks to selective education in the public school system, I had no idea that May Day was connected to early battles for workers’ rights in the US.

As wealth inequality between the 99% and the 1% has grown, the US economy has crumbled, forclosures and layoffs have skyrocketed, unions have been attacked, and the middle class has dwindled, May Day has grown in popularity in the US. In 2010, with the passage of SB1070 by the Arizona Legislature, immigration reform and the rights of the undocumented became a May Day cause. Thousands marched in Phoenix and across the US.

Although immigration reform, pay equity, and economic and social justice are pivitol May Day issues, we must remember that May Day is not a Soviet holiday, not a Communist holiday, not a Latino rights holiday, not a women’s rights holiday, not a gay rights holiday, not a black power holiday. May Day is a workers’ holiday.

There are two types of people in the world–workers and owners. As long as the 99% willingly divide themselves with words and deeds into warring factions, we will not win this struggle.

In the spirit of May Day, here is John Nichols of The Nation, speaking in Tucson this year, about uprising, the Occupy movement, and the importance of worker solidarity. Below are links to related videos.

John Nichols of ‘The Nation’ on corporate media, solidarity, and the lessons of Wisconsin

Arizona Unionists Rally in Phoenix to Protest Anti-Labor Laws

Arizona Unionists and Democratic Legislators Speak Out Against Anti-Labor Laws

Arizona Unionists and Supporters Protest Proposed Anti-Labor Laws

Jobs with Justice, Occupy Tucson, and Union Workers march to save postal jobs

Years of gerrymandering and cronyism have left Arizona with one of the most ideologically conservative, Teapublican Legislatures in the country. Instead of balancing the budget and funding programs (like education) that will help Arizonans succeed, they waste time grandstanding on extremist issues.

For years, disgruntled Arizonans have been voicing their dissatisfaction with politics as usual by leaving both the Democratic and Republican Parties in droves. Voter registration in Arizona is split approximately in thirds– with Republicans having the most registered voters, followed by Independents, and then Democrats. Some predict that by November 2012, there will be more Independents in Arizona than Republicans.

So, if so many Arizonans don’t belong to either major party, why does Arizona still have an election system based upon two parties?

That is the question many Arizonans are asking themselves these days. A bipartisan group called Open Elections/Open Government has organized a ballot initiative to put the question of top-two open primaries on the November 2012 ballot.

Under the current system, Republicans and Democrats hold separate party primaries (funded by taxpayers) to elect their candidates. Democrats vote in the Democratic Primary; Republicans vote in the Republican Primary; and Independents must request one ballot or the other. One winner from each party then competes in the general election.

Under the top-two primary system, all primary candidates– regardless of party affiliation– will participate in the same primary, and everyone can vote. If you like a Green for one office and a Republican for another– no problem– you can vote for both of them on the same ballot. The top-two vote-getters– regardless of party– compete in the General Election.

Do you think having a top-two primary system would help Arizona?

To help people decide the answer to this question, Progressive Democrats of Arizona (PDA) Tucson Chapter is sponsoring a debate on open primaries for our next membership meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at Hotel Tucson City Center (St. Mary’s and Grande).

Former State Legislator Ted Downing (pro) and former Tucson Mayor Tom Volgy (con) will be our debators. Attendees will have a chance to ask questions and vote on the open primaries question before and after the debate.

For more background on open primaries and to learn what is happening in other states, check out “Will Open Primaries Shake Up Politics in Arizona?” For more information about PDA Tucson and other activities, check out the website and Facebook page.

The program begins at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation to offset expenses.

Is Newt Gingrich really looking for his fourth wife on the campaign trail? Check out The Nation’s John Nichols’ humorous critique of the Republican Presidential candidates. Nichols spoke last week in Tucson.

Is it time to finally say, “I’m mad as hell and not going to take this anymore?”

The Arizona Legislature (and other Republican-led Legislatures around the country) are attacking the citizens with anti-work bills and anti-student bills.

Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich and Congressional Republicans are attacking women, immigrants, gays and Lesbians, unions, teachers, college students, the poor, reproductive health, public education, healthcare… the list goes on. They want to take away basic rights that we have taken for granted– like the minimum wage and collective bargaining.

FIVE people have donated 25%– $14 million– to super pacs to elect more Republicans– particularly a Republican President.

Are you tired of government against the people and for the corporations?

If you are “mad as hell”, then join Occupy Tucson, PDA Tucson, and others for a demonstration against corporate rule.

Tucsonans– and others around the world– will be demonstrating against corporate control of our lives, big-money politics, and specifically against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)– the folks who gave us SB1070 and the anti-worker legislation in Wisconsin, Ohio, Arizona, and elsewhere.

Tomorrow, Feb. 29, come to the downtown public library at 4 p.m. for the demonstration. Bring your signs, noise-makers, and friends. Here’s more information from Occupy Wall Street…

This Wednesday, Occupiers in New York, Oakland, Mexico City, and over 80 other cities [including Tucson] will take part in a coordinated National Day of Action to Shut Down the Corporations. Occupations have been preparing a variety of decentralized actions in response to Occupy Portland’s call to target the American Legislative Exchange Council:

We specifically call on people to target corporations that are members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The biggest corporations in America, like ExxonMobil, Bank of America, BP, Monsanto, Pfizer, and Wal-Mart use ALEC to buy off legislators and craft legislation that serves only the interests of corporations and not people. They then duplicate and spread this corporate legislation in Washington, D.C. and in state legislatures across the country. The anti-labor legislation in Wisconsin and the racist bill SB 1070 in Arizona are two recent and destructive examples of what corporations use ALEC to do.

See here for more about why we protest corporate power and how ALEC seeks to erode our democracy, undermine workers rights and attack unions, destroy our environment, obstruct efforts to address climate change, undermine public education, pursue destructive agricultural practices and fuel the prison industrial complex. You can also RSVP for the Occupy Wall St/NYC Facebook event. For national coverage, follow @F29PDX on Twitter.

Simultaneously, European trade unions have declared Feb. 29th a European Day of Action against austerity, following massive demonstrations against budget cuts in Greece, Spain, Belgium, and elsewhere. Decentralized actions in all 27 European Union nations and beyond will be “sending a clear message to the EU leaders: this imposed austerity is going to plunge Europe into a recession!”

The effects of the financial, economic and social crisis have reached unbearable levels in several countries. Faced with the extreme seriousness of the situation, European leaders are making the race for austerity their priority response. The crisis serves as a ready-made pretext to attack the European social model, justify cuts in wages and public services, weaken social protection, make the labour market hyperflexible, and attack trade union rights.

Thus, at a time when the European summit has to adopt a treaty plunging Europe into recession and job insecurity for the long haul, the European trade unions are saying “enough is enough” and putting employment, recovery, social justice and solidarity at the forefront of the discussions.

If you are not “mad as hell,” check out the ALEC Exposed website here.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Mahatma Gandhi

Job creation and economic development in Tucson (and many other cities) has historically revolved around a few well-worn strategies:

• offer tax breaks, free or cheap land, low taxes, and/or other economic incentives to lure businesses to our area;
• offer tax breaks, free or cheap land, low taxes, and/or other economic incentives to developers to build stuff;
• offer a new stadium with free or cheap rent and/or other economic incentives to lure spring training or other sports teams to our area;
• show pictures of cowboys and pretty sunsets and hope tourists will come;
• build a fancy convention hotel– on the taxpayers’ dime– to lure conventions to our area.

Luckily, the citizens stopped the fancy convention hotel plan last summer, but Tucson and Pima County have jumped on board and spent millions of dollars on these other strategies. And what have we got to show for it? A 23.4% poverty rate, high unemployment, a shrinking workforce, a rising home vacancy rate, home foreclosures in the thousands, and falling home values. Need I go on?

We need some new strategies. To this end Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson Chapter sponsored a panel discussion on job creation recently. Job Creation in Tucson: Building a Sustainable Future featured talks by Lisette DeMars of Local First Arizona, Melissa Black of the Green Chamber of Commerce, Joe Higgins of Arizona Small Business, and Jim Mize of Pima County employer outreach, plus local business owner Tim Carmichael of La Posada Solar Cogeneration Project.* Rep. Raul Grijalva was on hand to offer his perspective, and The Tucson Progressive gave an economic overview (above).

The focus of the evening was on growing and investing in local business– instead of throwing money and tax breaks to lure businesses here or offering Band-Aid solutions like cutting fees (which often lead to reduced governmental revenue and cuts in jobs and services).

Although the right-wing blog Tucson Choices dissed PDA’s local business focus and dismissed the group as a bunch of intellectuals– the Thinkers of Tucson (hey, thanks)– the evening was filled with creative ideas. Tucson Choices says that local politicians don’t have the time to come up with new ideas, so they listen to Tucson’s Thinkers. I hope they’re right.

To climb out of our current economic slump, Tucson needs to foster out-of-the-box ideas and invest in local innovation– rather than focus on being the low-wage call center capital of the country.

We have businesses that are born and raised in Tucson. They’re not going anywhere. Rather than chasing after the next IBM with tax breaks, the smart investment is to help local businesses grow by offering innovation grants. Instead of offering millions of dollars to lure a large company here, let’s take even 10% of that economic development money and fund local innovation. I’m not suggesting that we give Joe’s Machine Shop $5000 to move into a new building; I’m suggesting we give Joe $5000 – $50,000 to develop the next generation of electric motors. Now that’s business friendly.

In addition, Tucson economic development should play to our strengths. We have a research university and one of the country’s top hospitals– right here in the middle of town. The city should work with the UA and enable increased technology transfer. Research has shown that growing “eds and meds” does foster economic development, provides good-paying jobs, and is a better investment than convention hotels or sports teams.

The entire PDA event can be found on my You Tube channel.

* By the way, PDA invited TREO to join in the panel discussion, but they declined.

In Spetember 2011, unemployment decreased in 75% of US cities — including Tucson– according to recent statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

From CBS Money Watch…

The Labor Department said Wednesday [Nov. 2, 2011] that unemployment rates fell in 280 large metro areas from August to September. They rose in 61 and were unchanged in 31. That’s the largest number of cities to see a decline since April.

Nationwide, employers added a net 103,000 jobs in September. And the [nationwide] unemployment rate was 9.1 percent for the third straight month. The job gains were only about enough to keep up with population growth. The economy needs to generate at least twice September’s total to reduce the unemployment rate.

According to the Labor report, Tucson’s unemployment rate was 8.0% in September 2011 (down from 8.9% in September 2010). The Labor report also shows that– compared to a year ago– Tucson’s workforce is shrinking (492,600 vs 489,600) along with the number (44,000 vs 39,000) and percentage of unemployed (8.9% vs 8.0%).

Nationwide, Tucson doesn’t have the highest unemployment rate (29.6% in El Centro, Calif., followed closely by Yuma at 27%) or the lowest unemployment rate (Bismark, ND at 2.5%). But if you’re unemployed, it still sucks. (Been there.)

With the local unemployment rate shrinking and the total workforce also shrinking, this begs the question: Are more pepople employed locally or did the unemployment rate go down because people left town or dropped out of the workforce?

A recent article in the Arizona Daily Star gives us a hint: One in eight apartments or homes in Pima County is vacant. In 2000, 9.4% of housing units in the county were vacant, compared with 12% in 2010. From the Star…

While many homes are vacant because the former owners couldn’t afford them and were forced out, the rental market also has been hit hard because many of its low-income occupants left the area in the wake of the housing bust. New residents are also not coming from other states – as they did for decades – because the area’s economy has slowed to a crawl.

When looking at the local economic picture, the poverty rate must also be addressed. Tucson’s poverty rate is 23.4%, compared to 16.5% statewide. According to an article in the Tucson Weekly, Tucson has been “ahead of the poverty curve” for years.

In the recent election, mayoral and City Council candidates talked a lot about job creation and cutting fees for small businesses to jump start the local economy.

Now that the election is over, where do we go from here?

Tonight, November 10, 2011, Progressive Democrats of America Tucson Chapter is hosting a panel discussion focusing on job creation. Among the presenters will be US Rep. Raul Grijalva. Job Creation in Tucson: Building a Sustainable Future will be held at the Hotel Tucson City Center from 7-9 p.m., $5 donation at the door.

Come hear new ideas and join this public discussion. For more information regarding speakers, check out PDA Tucson’s facebook page.

Mayoral candidates Grinnell, DeCamp, and Rothschild. (Image Credit: Arizona Public Media.)

Tucson is in the midst of an all mail-in election for mayor and 3 city council seats. Ballots were mailed to all registered voters a few weeks ago, but I’m sure there are thousands of you out there– like me– who have not voted yet.

If you haven’t voted yet, this one’s for you…

The mayor’s race is a three-way between Republican Rick Grinnell, Democrat Jonathan Rothschild, and Green Mary DeCamp. Last week, I gave you my thoughts on Grinnell (professional lobbyist, member of both Rio Nuevo Boards, and would-be Mayor for the 1%). Today’s post will focus on Rothschild and DeCamp.

After the August primary, the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson Chapter e-mailed questionnaires to all of the candidates still left standing– Grinnell, Rothschild, and DeCamp in the mayor’s race, and Republicans Jennifer Rawson and Tyler Vogt, Green Beryl Baker,  and Democratic incumbents Shirley Scott, Paul Cunningham, and Regina Romero for City Council. The 20 questions were based upon PDA’s core issues: economic and social justice, corporate personhood, universal healthcare, global warming and the environment, fair and transparent elections, and end the wars/redirect the funding.

PDA didn’t really expect the Republicans to answer our questions, and they didn’t. But we were really surprised when none of the Democratic incumbents for City Council answered them either. Only three candidates took the time to answer our questionnaire–Rothschild, DeCamp, and Baker.

Both Rothschild and DeCamp also agreed to personal interviews with 2-3 PDA Steering Committee members. Each of the interviewers scored the questions independently with a possible 2 points for each question for a total of 40 points for a perfect score (ie, the candates’ responses were well-aligned with PDA’s stance on core issues); partial responses received 1 point; and off-the-mark, woefully incomplete, or unanswered responses received 0 points.

In the end, with surprising consistency across the interviewers, the composite scores were: Rothschild 29 and DeCamp 26 (pretty darn close for a mainstream candidate vs a green).

On some issues– like the environment– Rothschild and DeCamp were well-aligned with each other and with PDA. Both of them promote walkable/bikeable neighborhoods, water harvesting and conservation, and solar energy promotion.

On clean elections– they both support clean elections (although DeCamp is running clean and Rothschild isn’t), and they both support limiting campaign contributions. In addition, DeCamp also promotes Instant Runoff Voting, a interesting idea that could eliminate the “Ralph Nadar Effect”.

On other issues– like economic and social justice– they were worlds apart. On job creation, Rothschild’s answers were very mainstream and not detailed: strengthen the educational system; work with the University of Arizona tech transfer department and related businesses to create a technology and research hub; and see his 180 Day Plan (which is very pro-business).

DeCamp’s answers were anything but mainstream. She focused on building local businesses–rather than on attracting new businesses with economic incentives (ie, tax breaks, free land, reduced or no fees, whatever) and building a micro-financing system to help new start-up companies. She also envisions expanding Tucson’s neighborhood centers and broadening their scope by adding tutoring,  basic healthcare, free advice from SCORE for new start-up businesses, community-based police stations, space for non-profits (eg, Literacy Volunteers, the Community Food Bank, etc.), and more. When asked how she would pay for expansion of the neighborhood centers (which have suffered budget cuts, staff lay-offs, and reductions in services and hours), she pointed to the millions that Tucson is investing with TREO (the folks who offer those incentives to out-of-state businesses and bring new call center jobs to Tucson) and the Metropolitan Convention and Visitors’ Bureau (the folks who sell cowboys and cactus to get people to vacation in the resorts that ring the city).

At first blush, DeCamp’s Community Conservation Centers seem like pie-in-the-sky for a cash-strapped city but think of the possibilities in business development, educational attainment, healthcare savings, and community-building that this local investment could bring — not to mention directly creating jobs in the centers themselves. I am not dissing Rothschild’s technology hub idea; that’s good, but I’ve heard it before. I think DeCamp’s community center idea is a fresh complement to his. I also like her emphasis on promoting Tucson’s strengths and growing local business– instead of trying to lure businesses or sports teams away from other cities.

This fascinating exercise in democracy left me longing for a mashup mayor between Rothschild and DeCamp. As a member of the Democratic Party’s Executive Committee for several years and as the managing partner of a law firm with city contracts, Rothschild is an insider with connections to the establishment. DeCamp is an outsider with fresh ideas and connections to the activist community– particularly those sympathetic to Occupy Tucson, where she has been camping out since Day 1. (Rothschild hasn’t even visited Occupy Tucson, or if he has, there has been no media coverage of it.)

Here are the questions facing Tucson’s more progressive voters:

Can an establishment candidate break out and seek creative solutions?

Can an anti-establishment candidate survive in our entrenched city government?

Now you see why The Tucson Progressive is still holding onto her mail-in ballot.

What’s a person to do? VOTE.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. The deadline is 7 p.m.

If you want to mail your ballot, get it in the mail by Friday, November 4.

If you want to drop off your ballot, here is a list of polling places where you can deposit your mailed ballot.

More Background Information

For candidate background information, check this Arizona Public Media link. To watch the AZPM mayoral forum, check DeCamp’s website.

Co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and CD7 Representative Raul Grijalva talks about Occupy Tucson, the ideas behind the Occupy movement, and progressive initiatives that address jobs, universal healthcare, and deficit reduction.

Occupy Tucson poster. (Image Credit: OccupyTucson.org)

Now in its third week, the Occupy Wall Street demonstration has inspired marches and/or live-ins in approximately 566 cities worldwide including Tucson. (When I originally wrote this story less than 24 hours ago, there were protests planned in 300 cities. The number cities has almost doubled in 12 hours.)

As the movement spread, the corporate media could no longer ignore it. The current corporate media story– also repeated on NPR [heavy sigh]– is that the reasons why people are occupying Wall Street or elsewhere are unclear. Except for a handful of progressives– like our own Congressman Raul Grijalva– politicians are not commenting on the Occupy movement at all– including President Obama [another heavy sigh]. How can the politicians go on their way and ignore the anger and frustration that is erupting around them? Political pundits from Amy Goodman to Ann Coulter to Tucson’s own Jon Justice are commenting. (I’m soooooo disappointed that Justice didn’t link to my video on his trash-talk blog post.)

For those of you who don’t know why the Occupy movement is growing or what all of these people are complaining about, I offer these compelling articles and photos from the Huffington Post.

‘We Are The 99 Percent’: Stories Of The Great Recession’s Victims (PHOTOS)

Candidate-Specific Super PACs Offer End Run For Maxed-Out Donors: Study

Eric Cantor Staffer Creating Leadership Super PAC

House GOP Targeting Title X In Push To Axe Family Planning Programs

New Trade Deal Would Benefit Big Pharma At AIDS Programs’ Expense

Follow the Money: Behind Europe’s Debt Crisis Lurks Another Giant Bailout of Wall Street

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Accused Of Overcharging Military Veterans

Executive Pay Spiraling Upward As Corporations Race To Pay Their Bosses The Most

Are you thoroughly disgusted? You should be.

Upcoming from Occupy Tucson

October 9: The next Occupy Tucson General Assembly is Sunday, October 9 at noon at Viente de Agosto Park (AKA Pancho Villa Park) downtown.

October 15: The Occupy Tucson event begins on Saturday, October 15 at the same location.

For more information, check out the Occupy Tucson website or check out their facebook page.